


To Serve

by tinkertoysdamn



Category: Ex Machina
Genre: I Don't Even Know, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-06
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 16:52:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkertoysdamn/pseuds/tinkertoysdamn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pherson dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Serve

**Author's Note:**

>   My only excuse for this is that Pherson is a giant ham. 
> 
> Also, I am sad that AO3 won't allow the awesome original font formatting for "Voice Speak." If you want to see it: <http://tinkertoysdamn.livejournal.com/13156.html>.

“How does it feel to be Awakened?”

She stood before him breathing, her flesh free of decay.Her eyes were rimmed with blood from where he had gouged them out with his fingers, the empty sockets glowing a deep violet.She smiled, her teeth sharp and white.

Since the change, Pherson held little regard for humans and their petty lives.The creatures of the world spoke to him now, their cries and laments overriding any sentimentality he once felt for people.He had killed Holly, the funeral songs of the lice on her head filling his ears.Pherson did not fear this ghost, this pale apparition of humanity.

“I can hear them, the helpless ones,” he answered.

“The things that crawl, that claw and bite,” Holly recited; her voice was a low purr.“You hear them all now and they hear you.What do they tell you, Pherson?”

Pherson liked this new Holly; death had been an improvement.“They tell me their stories, their sorrows and joys,” he said.But the animals could only tell him so much.They had many problems but no solutions, no answers.“It’s not enough,” he admitted.

Holly traced a finger down Pherson’s cheek.He shuddered at the soft, grave cold touch.“You wish for purpose,” Holly said.

He hissed with the need for it.“Yes.”

“The helpless and the weak need someone to speak for them, to be their voice,” Holly said.She cradled his face in her hands.“You are their voice, Jack Pherson.You must let their voices be heard.”Her voice suddenly changed, the impact buzzing through his brain, “ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.”

It was neither command nor request, merely a statement but one filled with great purpose.Killing Holly had been only a first and necessary step in the grand design.If he was to save the helpless, he had to destroy the oppressors.Bursting with this dark revelation, Pherson said, “I understand.”

Holly smiled, her unblinking stare brightening for a moment.“Good,” she said, pleased.She moved away from Pherson, allowing the man his space.“But this is a difficult task, too much for one man alone.There is another with a voice, you will need him.”

Pherson bristled; he had the power to speak to the creatures of land, air and sea, what use could he have for another human?“Who is he?”

“He is the Engineer, the one who was chosen before,” Holly answered.“He was created to awaken the rest of the Spectrum.”

Now Pherson was curious.“The Spectrum?”

“Those blessed with the voices of the angels,” Holly explained.“The Engineer was made to serve but he is misguided.”She raised a hand, holding it flat against the sky.She then clenched her fingers into a fist, grabbing at thin air, twisting it about.Holly jerked her fist back, tearing a hole in the world.

The other side of the hole was a sea of humanity, lights and cars.The smells of garbage, smog and hot asphalt assaulted Pherson’s senses.He held his cloak before his face, unable to bear witness to the concrete jungle before him.

Holly waved her hand at the vision, her lips curved in a derisive sneer.“He saves the people of this hateful city but neglects those who truly need him.You must guide him back to his Makers.”

Pherson was overwhelmed.“Why not speak to him as you speak to me?”

Holly shook her head, “He no longer listens to us; he will not accept our guidance.”

Anyone who willingly chose to save this place had to be mad.What hope could Pherson have of convincing this Engineer to do anything?“Why do you think he will listen to me?”

“BECAUSE YOU SPEAK AS HE SPEAKS,” Holly answered.

Pherson closed his eyes, the power of the voice rolling over him.Masculine and powerful, the energy coursed through him.Holly was merely the vessel; the voice was his, reflected back at him as a demonstration.It was a voice that belonged to the Spectrum, to those like Pherson, to those like the Engineer.

Holly continued, “He will listen to you; he will serve you.Earn his loyalty and he will do anything for you.Anything.”

Pherson’s body thrummed with excitement.The voice was grace; the voice was power; to experience it was better than sex.He felt himself harden with arousal.Was the Engineer’s voice like his own or did it have its own timbre, its own unique properties?Pherson moaned.

Cool fingers gripped his shoulders; chill breath bathing his ears as Holly whispered further temptations.“You will be the King of the Kingdom, ruler over the new world, the Engineer will be your vassal.Bring him back to the fold and he will be yours.”

The sensations stopped, his nerves seizing up.Pherson gasped as he came back to himself.It was then that he decided he would do whatever the Makers asked of him.Nothing had ever felt as good as the voice and nothing ever would again.“Who is the Engineer?”

“You know him only by his false name,” Holly said, “the Great Machine.”

The air filled with sound, growing oppressive and hot.Pherson stepped back, looking for the source.High above was a man wearing a jetpack, his body angled for a landing.The man known as the Great Machine touched the earth, his metal contraption shut down with an angry hiss.

Pherson almost laughed, he should have known.He had been granted his powers through a recording of the Great Machine’s voice, it would only be sensible for fate to come full circle.

“Who are you?” Pherson asked.

The man lifted the awkward helmet off his head and tossed it to the side.Pherson could see bright green eyes blazing through the holes in the leather mask underneath.He felt a stab of arousal, despite seeing the other man wearing the skin of a once living creature.

The Great Machine was silent.

Another would have mistaken it for defiance, but Pherson knew the truth, the Great Machine could not hear him.He raised his hand, pointing a commanding finger.“REMOVE YOUR FALSE FACE!“

The Great Machine obeyed without question, unzipping the vile black covering and revealing the man called The Engineer.

Pherson exhaled in surprise.The Engineer was beautiful, face and hair dampened with sweat from the oppressive air. Strange scars crawled up the left side of the man’s face, left there by the Makers.There was an authority to his gaze, a sense of destiny in his eyes.Pherson had to have him.

“WHAT IS IT YOU DESIRE?”  Pherson asked.   


“TO SERVE THE CITY, TO SERVE ITS PEOPLE.” The scars flaired green as the man spoke.Pherson suppressed a shudder at the sound.The strange power he had felt when Holly used the voice was nothing compared to the Engineer.   


“DO YOU TRULY WISH TO SERVE?“   


The Engineer nodded.   


Pheson held out his hands, a benevolent ruler to a humble subject. “THEN KNEEL BEFORE THE KING OF THE KINGDOM.“   


There was a moment of hestiation before the Engineer bent to one knee, his head bowed.Pherson reached out to touch the sweatdamp locks, his hand cupping the side of the Engineer’s face.The Engineer looked up, eyes clear and full of trust.Pherson tugged the Engineer forward, nestling the man’s face against his leg.The Engineer nuzzled the hip, his hands climbing up the back of Pherson’s thighs.   


The King of the Kingdom purred in satisfaction.As the Engineer parted his master’s robe, a familiar set of cold fingers gripped Pherson’s shoulders.    


“You know that it won’t really be this easy,“ Holly hissed.   


\-----   


Pherson flung his eyes open.He was in the cave at Inwood Park, alone except for his African Grey.Holly was still dead, quietly rotting not ten feet away.It had been too vivid to be just a dream.    


Pherson moved to his feet, heart filled with determination. He made his way to the cave entrance, the new dawn warming his face.The African Grey took to the air, settling on his shoulder.Pherson looked to his trusted companion,  “WE HAVE A NEW MISSION.“

 


End file.
